What it means to be a perfectionist or OCD
“I’m such a perfectionist.” “I’m so OCD.”
These phrases are often thrown around lightly and used interchangeably. People claim themselves to be perfectionists or accuse others of having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder merely because someone takes an extra five minutes to double-check an assignment they have completed or rechecks the lock on their door.
Oftentimes, perfectionism and OCD, also known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, are confused.
What is OCD?
“A person suffering from symptoms of OCD feels compelled to engage in repetitive behaviors based on the assumption that by engaging in the behavior, the thoughts or images will go away,” Dr. Victoria Priola, a psychologist at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill., says. “For example, if I believe my hands are dirty, I will wash them. If I do not think I cleaned off all of the germs from my hands, I will wash them again, and again and again, until my skin is raw from the scrubbing. The obsessions and compulsions can cause so much distress and consume so much time that the person’s everyday life is negatively impacted.”
A study in Psychological Bulletin found that perfectionism is increasing over time, especially in millennials.
“OCD is slightly more common in people ages 18-35,” Dr. Priola says. “Perhaps this has to do with environmental factors for this age group related to developmental stressors, education, jobs, family, financial stress, etc. that are different than the stressors of individuals outside of this age range.”
What is perfectionism?
“Perfectionists focus on details and insist on making things ‘just right’ by practicing more than necessary or redoing work until it is perfect in their eyes,” Dr. Priola says. “Dynamically, perfectionists are often driven by fears of disapproval from others, being rejected or criticized. As a result, perfectionism is a learned behavior used, in an unconscious way, to seek acceptance and validation from others.”
There are two types of perfectionism: adaptive, which is healthy perfectionism, and maladaptive, which is harmful perfectionism that leads to anxiety.
Perfectionism and OCD are two very distinct conditions, both of which can benefit from diagnosis and treatment by licensed mental health professionals, she says.
For treatment options, Dr. Priola stresses the importance of being assessed by a licensed clinical psychologist or other licensed mental health professional.
“Treatment is crucial for managing OCD, and a combination of psychotherapy with medication is most effective,” she says. “Though perfectionism is not a diagnosable psychological condition requiring psychotherapy and medication, individuals with such tendencies could benefit from psychotherapy alone to identify the source of their perfectionistic beliefs, learn alternative strategies for being effective and develop more balanced expectations of themselves and others.”
Are you trying to find a doctor? Look here if you live in Illinois. Look here if you live in Wisconsin.
Related Posts
Comments
6 Comments
About the Author
health enews staff is a group of experienced writers from our Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care sites, which also includes freelance or intern writers.
The information in the email was helpful however it was organized poorly. It was separated and grouped OCD vs perfectionism however within each topic, it discussed the other.
For example within the topic of perfectionism, this was written. This should have been under OCD. “Treatment is crucial for managing OCD, and a combination of psychotherapy with medication is most effective,” she says. “Though perfectionism is not a diagnosable psychological condition requiring psychotherapy and medication, individuals with such tendencies could benefit from psychotherapy alone to identify the source of their perfectionistic beliefs, learn alternative strategies for being effective and develop more balanced expectations of themselves and others.”
And under OCD, this was written and should have been under perfectionism “There are two types of perfectionism: adaptive, which is healthy perfectionism, and maladaptive, which is harmful perfectionism that leads to anxiety.”
Again, the information was good however it was very poorly organized so made the article difficult to follow.
I thought the article was very helpful, easy to read and follow , I thought it was very well organized.
I was extremely disappointed to see that ERP was not mentioned. Please consider a follow up to this article and include that Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Is an evidence based treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It is more effective for OCD than any other treatment.
Enjoyed the article. It seems though, that Kara R is the perfectionist type who will readily criticize and correct others.
The article was fine. Kara has OCD.
I strongly disagree with the above reviews of this article. It is very concise in its discussion. The author clarified common misconceptions about behavioral disorders. No judgment about the behavior was made. Additionally, many people will benefit from psychotherapy treatments if they are open to positive change.